Country/Rock?????????

Chris LeDrew · Post by **Chris LeDrew** » 17 Aug 2006 5:41 pm

The original bassist and drummer are in "Revisited". Fogerty tried to shut them down but was unsuccessful. Cars guitarist Elliot Easton was with them for a while.

Jim Phelps · Post by **Jim Phelps** » 17 Aug 2006 6:44 pm

Hmmm, yeah they say Fogerty was born cranky and stayed that way, but I liked his music. Good for CCRevisited for fighting and winning the right to play it.

By the way, all the researchers and analysts might not consider CCR as country rock, but if you played any country bars in the early 70's you'd know that if you couldn't play Proud Mary, Lodi and a few others you might as well pack up and go home, at least in all the country bars I played on the west coast.

I don't remember if anyone even used the term country rock in those days but the country fans surely accepted it as such. They'd likely have boo'ed you or worse if you tried any Pink Floyd, Hendrix or any of that, but they loved CCR, right along with all the old and current country hits of the day.

I thought of CCR as rock, but I think it's interesting that REAL COUNTRY people in the '70's, before new oountry existed, accepted CCR with open arms. Listening to Proud Mary and Lodi now, it sounds a lot more country than the stuff coming out of Nashville.

*edited, I left out a word...[This message was edited by Jim Phelps on 18 August 2006 at 03:23 PM.]

Mike Winter · Post by **Mike Winter** » 18 Aug 2006 7:48 am

I know the term "Country Rock" was used on the January 12, 1970 issue of TIME Magazine. The American issue featured a picture of The Band with the words: "The New Sound of Country Rock." The Canadian issue had the same red and black picture, only the words said "Canada's Contribution to Country Rock." The fabled Fourth Estate...they never get it right.

Since I grew up in Toronto, The Band (formerly The Hawks) have always been big musical heroes of mine. But The Band were always...The Band. I never figured them to be Country Rock.

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Mike
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Blue Moon Highway
(Country Music...and then some.)
www.bluemoonhighway.com

ZB Custom S-10 (#0509)

[This message was edited by Mike Winter on 18 August 2006 at 08:49 AM.]

Jason Odd · Post by **Jason Odd** » 18 Aug 2006 9:51 pm

I don't suppose the Band thought of themselves as country-rock either, although I'd consider them that.

CCR I'd consider country-rock, but by default, they're more swamp rock, like Tony Jo White or if you like what they called Gospel Rock, or even Blue Eyed Soul, at least as much as country-rock.
Gospel-rock some ask... weeell, Delaney & Bonnie, Jim Ford, Tony Joe, among others.

Jim Sliff, I believe you are thinking of the Blue Ridge Rangers (or is it Runners) album that Fogerty did in 1973, he played just about eveything on that record.
The CCR albums are band recordings through and through, even the later stuff (after Tom left) saw the others bringing in guitar riffs and lyrics.

Jim Sliff · Post by **Jim Sliff** » 22 Aug 2006 8:16 am

Jason - I'm just repeating what has been said in old articles and interviews with folks in the recording end of the industry. Blue Ridge Rangers he openly played all the stuff, but (again, not first-hand stuff) the early CCR stuff was reportedly all-him, with him teaching the guys the parts for live playing, and some odd contractual stuff that prevented them from talking about it.

Might not be true, but oddly it's still talked about in the engineering world - my son's a fledgling engineer at one of the larger Hollywood studios and got the same story during his internship, as an example of one-man "band" recordings, along with Boston....

Gene Jones · Post by **Gene Jones** » 22 Aug 2006 9:16 am

More About CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL [This message was edited by Gene Jones on 22 August 2006 at 10:21 AM.]

Jason Odd · Post by **Jason Odd** » 23 Aug 2006 7:32 am

Oh wow, I can't believe that people (Re: old articles and interviews with folks in the recording end of the industry) actually believe John Fogerty was CCR in the studio.

They recorded for Fantasty, a Jazz label, which essentially got them to play live just like any of the jazz artists they were cutting.

Doug Clifford: "Everything was recorded live. The four of us would go in and play the tracks and John would go in and overdub the guitar solos." That's from an interview by Billy Jeansonne a few years ago.

Jim Sliff · Post by **Jim Sliff** » 23 Aug 2006 6:29 pm

Yep, been going around the L.A. circles for decades.

Thanks for the real story. I'll let my son know and start backing the real thing through the system....

Don't know how those things get started, but it's really a common story.

Jason Odd · Post by **Jason Odd** » 25 Aug 2006 3:39 pm

Hi Jim, no doubt, although I don't think it's made it's way over here.
I know a guy who plays in one of the best punk bunds ever (The Nation Blue) and mentioned that Creedence rumour and he was like, no way.

As a small aside an 1980s band called Green River took their name partially from a Creedence album, that band later splintered into Mudhoney, Bloodloss, Pearl Jam, Mother Love Bone, etc. CCR become uncool on a regular basis, yet there's always a massive fan base of people who aren't simply trend followers, but fans of rock.

Glenn Womack · Post by **Glenn Womack** » 29 Aug 2006 5:24 pm

I'm grew up as country as a piece of cornbread, but never saw anything wrong with a dose of Lynrd or ZZ. My father was a Jimmy Rogers fan, and a lot of that was heard around the homestead.

As far as labels on music types, I am totally indifferent to genre, who played it, or what he played it on. If the chords and melody are pleasing to my ear, I don't care if Ben Ladin played it. I have no idea what genre he would play, but there I was being a bit ridiculous.

My favorite steelers are the ones I was hearing in the 40s and 50s and 60s while I was mis-spending my youth. I remember when Buddy E. came to Nashville the year he and I were 18 (I think).

Looks like I might be starting to babble, so I'll just say if it sounds good, it doesn't matter where its roots are or who did it or if it was CR, Country, or someone in a jug band. Just a few of my words.

Glenn

Jeremy Threlfall · Post by **Jeremy Threlfall** » 29 Aug 2006 5:47 pm

Quote: David L Donald 17th August

"As for the swing/rock appelation,
well if you listen to Bill Halley
Rock Around The Clock,
that sure swung for me."

... on to the country roots of rock and roll,
isn't "Rock around the Clock" essentially the same song as "Move it on Over"?

Jeremy

Carter Starter, Blues Deluxe

David L. Donald · Post by **David L. Donald** » 30 Aug 2006 7:13 am

One man's classic country
is another man's roots rock...
Food for thought.

We all, no matter how changed,
still go back to the blues singer
on the back porch telling about
life as he sees it.[This message was edited by David L. Donald on 02 September 2006 at 11:23 AM.]

Jeremy Threlfall · Post by **Jeremy Threlfall** » 30 Aug 2006 3:39 pm

right on

Jeremy

Jason Odd · Post by **Jason Odd** » 2 Sep 2006 6:46 am

hmm, if you're going to trot out 'Move It On Over,' then I might add that Hank ripped that whole concept off'n the Delmore Brothers.

David L. Donald · Post by **David L. Donald** » 2 Sep 2006 10:24 am

Who likely got it from Bill Monroe...

Jason Odd · Post by **Jason Odd** » 3 Sep 2006 10:31 pm

hmmm, good point, the Delmores and Monroe Brothers were about even in the 30s.

Gene Jones · Post by **Gene Jones** » 4 Sep 2006 3:33 am

...and there was also "Three Dog Night", who sounded kind of country to me on some of their commercial material.

Jim Sliff · Post by **Jim Sliff** » 4 Sep 2006 6:48 am

Gene - that's an odd coincidence, I was thinking the same thing last night. They sounded like some of the 70's-80's country in a lot of ways.

Gene Jones · Post by **Gene Jones** » 4 Sep 2006 7:48 am

Jim, how true.

I don't know whether 3-Dog played any country on their live gigs in the early 60's, but the country groups I worked with sure played requests for their music!

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<img height=100 width=70 src=http://genejones.bizland.com/Scan10095.jpg>
www.genejones.com

Brint Hannay · Post by **Brint Hannay** » 4 Sep 2006 9:55 am

It just occurred to me (I don't know why it didn't before) that no one has mentioned The Lovin' Spoonful. A lot of their stuff (starting in 1965) had country (country rock if you prefer) flavor, especially Zal Yanovsky's guitar style. Of course there was "Nashville Cats", their playful tribute to Music City musicians, with what sounds like probably Bigsby Palm Pedal effects on the lead guitar.

Post by **Dave Mudgett** » 4 Sep 2006 5:36 pm

Yeah, Brint - I agree with you. But they weren't on the West Coast - can't be country rock, eh?

Jason Odd · Post by **Jason Odd** » 4 Sep 2006 11:47 pm

yeeeah, like Buffalo Springfield and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (the early versions), they only touched on the genre, never became a part of it.

The Stones were known for some solid excursions into country-rock, but I wouldn't call them country-rock either.